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SHINSEKI IN THE LINE OF FIRE -- Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Michael D. Shear report on A1 of the NYT: “President Obama stopped short of dressing down his veterans affairs secretary, Eric Shinseki, during a blunt hourlong talk in the Oval Office on Wednesday. But the commander in chief made clear that a growing health care scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs had put the future of Mr. Shinseki — a retired four-star general and no stranger to Washington political uproars — once again on the line. … The president called Mr. Shinseki a ‘good soldier’ who had put his ‘heart and soul’ into the care of veterans, and said that ‘we’re going to work with him to solve the problem.’ But, he repeated, ‘I am going to make sure there is accountability.’

-- “It was a grim moment for the 71-year-old Mr. Shinseki, whose own disability — he lost part of his right foot after tripping on a land mine when he was a young soldier in Vietnam — makes him a client of the sprawling agency he oversees. A former Army chief of staff who famously fought with the White House of President George W. Bush over the war in Iraq, he is facing another dramatic turn in a career that has been filled with them. …

-- “Allegations that veterans hospitals manipulated waiting lists in order to hide long delays that many patients faced have created a political storm for the Obama White House. They have also prompted condemnations on Capitol Hill, where many Republicans — and as of Wednesday, two House Democrats, both from Georgia — are calling for Mr. Shinseki to resign. ‘I respect his sacrifice, I respect what he did, but it’s under his watch that we are in this situation,’ one of those Democrats, Representative David Scott, said Wednesday in an impassioned speech on the House floor. ‘Mr. President, we need urgency!’” http://nyti.ms/1jXqqIR

HUDDLE FLASHBACK: AUG. 17, 2009: President Obama addresses the Disabled American Veterans Convention in Phoenix, Ariz.: “We're going to challenge each of our 57 regional VA offices to come up with the best ways of doing business, of harnessing the best information technologies, of cutting red tape and breaking through the bureaucracy. And then we're going to fund the best ideas and put them into action, all with a simple mission: cut those backlogs, slash those wait times, deliver your benefits sooner. (Applause.) I know you've heard this for years, but the leadership and resources we're providing this time means that we're going to be able to do it. That is our mission, and we are going to make it happen. (Applause)” http://1.usa.gov/1j9TgFW

-- HOUSE PASSES BILL TO EASE FIRINGS OF VA BRASS – WSJ: “The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would cut through many job-protection provisions of high-ranking Department of Veterans Affairs employees and allow the head of the VA to fire or demote senior employees more easily.” http://on.wsj.com/RWN1iv

80 U.S. TROOPS JOIN SEARCH FOR NIGERIAN SCHOOLGIRLS – Faith Karimi and Catherine E. Shoichet report for CNN: “The United States deployed 80 members of its armed forces to Chad to help in the search for the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls, the White House said Wednesday. ‘These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area,’ it said in a letter. ‘The force will remain in Chad until its support in resolving the kidnapping situation is no longer required.’ President Barack Obama informed the House speaker and the president of the Senate of the move. The forces will be involved in maintaining aircraft and analyzing data, but because they are armed, the President is required by law to inform the speaker of the House, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.” http://cnn.it/1ofPBLX

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CLINTON ALLIES PRESSED PELOSI ON BENGHAZI – Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer report for the hometown paper: “Hillary Clinton’s world was so worried about a Republican investigation of the Benghazi attacks, they sent a message to House Democrats: We need backup. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) publicly considered boycotting the panel, an idea that Clinton supporters feared would leave the potential 2016 candidate exposed to the enemy fire of House Republicans. So Clinton emissaries launched a back channel campaign, contacting several House Democratic lawmakers and aides to say they’d prefer Democrats participate, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Pelosi’s staff said they have not heard from Clinton’s camp.

-- “On Wednesday, Pelosi appointed five Democrats to the committee, giving Democrats another crucial mission in the months ahead of what was already a tough election year: act as Clinton’s first line of defense. … As Republicans continue their high-profile probe into the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Clinton is center stage. Over the next few months, Republicans on the committee will work to build a case against her, and they will attempt to haul her to Capitol Hill to testify.” http://politi.co/1k7BJn4

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, May 22, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House meets at 9 a.m. with first and last votes expected between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on the surveillance reform bill known as the USA FREEDOM and the National Defense Authorization Act.

The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and at 1:45 p.m. will vote on the nomination of David Barron to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the First Circuit. The Senate will then vote on the conference report for the water projects bill known as WRRDA.

AROUND THE HILL – Reps. Glenn Thompson and Tim Ryan speak on the Medical Evaluation Parity for Service Members (MEPS) Act amendment to the defense bill at 9:15 a.m. at the House Triangle. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Speaker John Boehner follows in the same location at 11:30 a.m.

Sens. Harry Reid, Patty Murray, Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin speak on immigration reform at noon in the Senate Studio. Reps. Bob Goodlatte and John Conyers speak on the USA Freedom Act at 1 p.m. in HVC Studio A. A closed, classified All-Member briefing on Nigeria is at 1 p.m. in CVC 217.

W.H. THREATENS TO VETO DEFENSE BILL; HOUSE PRESSES FORWARD – Donna Cassata reports for the AP: “The House is bucking the Pentagon and pressing ahead with a $601 billion defense authorization bill that spares planes, ships and military bases in an election-year nod to hometown interests. Ignoring a White House veto threat, Republicans and Democrats were expected to vote overwhelmingly Thursday for the sweeping policy bill, which addresses issues ranging from the pervasive problem of sexual assault in the military to the future status of the nation's nuclear weapons to a missile defense site on the East Coast. Spending on the military is being cut after more than a decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and deficit-driven budget reductions are taking a toll. … The Obama administration objects to pinching the budget for readiness by $1.2 billion to cover the cost of favored ships and planes.”http://bit.ly/1nu5e1g

SENATE TO OK JUDICIAL PICK WHO WROTE DRONE MEMO -- Ed O’Keefe writes for the WaPo: “A federal judicial nominee who once wrote legal memos justifying using unmanned aerial drones to kill American terrorism suspects overseas cleared a procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. Senators voted 52 to 43 to advance the nomination of David J. Barron to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. A final confirmation vote is expected on Thursday. Barron had faced resistance from Democratic and Republican senators in recent weeks because of his involvement in drafting memos on the legality of drone strikes when he worked in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department in the early days of the Obama administration.” http://wapo.st/1jE8zMX

HOW REPUBLICANS LOSE BY WINNING – Todd S. Purdum writes for the hometown paper: “It’s the predominant paradox of contemporary American politics: If Republicans prevail in this year’s midterm congressional elections, it will be because of their party’s sharp-edged stances on topics like abortion and Benghazi, Obamacare and immigration, gay marriage and the minimum wage — issues that energize the GOP’s core base of support. But if Republicans lose the race for the White House in 2016, it will be because of their party’s polarizing, out-of-step stances on those very same issues, which alienate much of the broader electorate the GOP needs to win a national contest in a country whose demographics and political realities are shifting under its feet.

-- “Establishment Republicans had a good night in Tuesday’s round of primaries, but they did so in part by adopting positions at odds with the long-term need to broaden the party’s support and move away from litmus-test issues. A wide range of Republicans see the party courting the same disaster it did in 2012, playing a base game that will keep it shut out of the White House.” http://politi.co/1pfICCF

RYAN STILL OPEN TO 2016 RUN – Maggie Haberman and Jake Sherman report for POLITICO: “Rep. Paul Ryan told a group of business elites and donors at a New York City fundraiser that he’s asking friends and supporters ‘to keep their powder dry’ as he mulls a 2016 presidential bid, two attendees told POLITICO. It was among the most explicit statements Ryan has made to a crowd about his process with regards to a presidential run. And it came at a time when political insiders have questioned how eager he is to run. Ryan made the remark last week during a breakfast fundraiser for his re-election campaign for his House seat. The event was held at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan, with about 40 attendees, including hedge fund executive Dan Loeb; GOP donors Wilbur Ross and Wayne Berman; and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.” http://politi.co/1sY0tym

GRIMES: I’M NO ‘EMPTY DRESS’ -- “Running with, not from, gender. (In heels.): Kentucky Democrat challenging Sen. McConnell views being a woman as an advantage,” WaPo, A1 below the fold, By Ben Terris: “Alison Lundergan Grimes says it everywhere she goes. She said it at dozens of stops in Kentucky over the past week. She said it at her victory speech here Tuesday night after securing the Democratic nomination for Senate. And she plans to say it again all the way to November. She’s not an ‘empty dress.’ Ever since a Republican strategist used the insult months ago to belittle the 35-year-old Grimes, she has made it a rallying point in her quest to dislodge the Senate’s GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, from the Kentucky seat he has held for three decades.

-- “Her point is not subtle. Grimes, unabashedly embracing the political upside of her gender, is suggesting that McConnell, 72, is not taking this female challenger (or other women) as seriously as he should. … She is trying to accentuate the differences between herself and McConnell, a dark-suited Washington player more than twice her age who could become Senate majority leader if he beats Grimes and the GOP gains six seats in the chamber in November. Grimes’s focus on her gender follows years of efforts by other female candidates who have sought ways to be their authentic selves while also setting aside concerns that some voters might have about electing women to jobs traditionally held by men.” http://wapo.st/1j9WEk8

CUOMO TAPS HOCHUL AS RUNNING MATE – Jimmy Vielkind and Laura Nahmias write for Capital New York: “Kathy Hochul, a former congresswoman from Buffalo whose improbable special-election win was seen as a rebuke of the right-wing budget presented by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, has accepted the nomination by Governor Andrew Cuomo to run as his lieutenant governor. The move, announced on the first full day of the Democratic state convention on Long Island, is unmistakably an attempt to bring both gender and geographic balance to the Democratic statewide ticket, which in 2010 featured four white males. Hochul, who replaces current lieutenant governor Bob Duffy, has served as a top lobbyist for M&T Bank since she lost her re-election bid for Congress in 2012. She previously served as Erie County clerk.” http://bit.ly/1gSnD9F

HOW BIZARRE: W.H. HOSTS SENATORS FOR ‘BIZARRE’ MEETING – Yahoo News’ Olivier Knox reports: “White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and National Security Adviser Susan Rice met with a bipartisan delegation of senators late Tuesday for secret talks focused on foreign policy, several sources with knowledge of the discussion told Yahoo News. Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alluded to the meeting on Wednesday, as the panel held a hearing on whether and how to overhaul the signature law of the global war on terrorism.

-- “‘I know we both attended sort of a discussion last night that I found to be one of the most bizarre I've attended on Foreign Relations on foreign policy in our country,’ Corker said at one point, referring to himself and Sen. Bob Menendez (D.-New Jersey), the committee’s chairman. ‘I know several of us were involved in a very bizarre discussion last night. This continues a very bizarre discussion,’ Corker said at another point. The Tennessee Republican did not say where or with whom the meeting took place (or why it was bizarre). … In addition to Corker and Menendez, Senators Susan Collins (R.-Maine), Carl Levin (D-Michigan), Jon Tester (D.-Montana) and John Walsh (D.-Montana) also attended the meeting” http://yhoo.it/1toa9o0

WEDNESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – We had a three-way tie for first: Amanda Z. Toporek, David Heymsfeld and Claude Marx all answered within seconds of each other that Sen. Chuck Schumer's father had worked as an exterminator.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Given all the scrutiny on Veterans Affairs and Secretary Eric Shinseki, Robert Flock offers this question: This promise from a former president serves as the VA's mission statement. Name the President and identify the quote. The first person to send the correct answer to swong@politico.com gets a mention in tomorrow’s Huddle.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

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